COUGAR BASEBALL SET TO OPEN 2026 AT ALABAMA
Washington State opens the 2026 season with a three-game series at Alabama. Friday's opener is set for 2 p.m. (PT), Saturday is scheduled for Noon (PT) and Sunday's finale is set for 11 a.m. (PT).

FOLLOW ALONG
All three games will have live stats and televised on SEC Network +.

THIS WEEK IN COUGAR BASEBALL PODCAST
Every Wednesday a new episode of This Week in Cougar Baseball Podcast presented by Coors Light will be released with head coach Nathan Choate, a member of the program, and host Trevor Williams.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State returns 19 letterwinners from last year's club including all three weekend rotation starters and six to a lineup that improved its batting average by 20 points from the previous season. Preseason All-Mountain West Conference outfielder Max Hartman returns for his senior season after hitting .363 last season. Head coach Nathan Choate is in his third season at WSU.

ABOUT ALABAMA
Alabama went 41-18 overall last season, 16-14 in SEC play and reached the NCAA Regional round. The Crimson Tide lead the all-time series with Washington State 3-1. The Cougars took the initial meeting in the 1950 College World Series before Alabama won all three games in a 2018 series played in Tuscaloosa. WSU dropped a four-game series at fourth-ranked Arkansas to open last season but won the previous two meetings with SEC foes, beating No. 24 Kentucky at the Round Rock Classic in 2024 and Texas A&M in the 2022 Frisco Classic.

CRESSWELL NAMED TO GREAT BRITAIN WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC ROSTER
Former Washington State catcher Will Cresswell was named to Great Britain's 2026 World Baseball Classic roster. Cresswell was drafted in the 18th round by the Toronto Blue Jays this past summer, the first Cougar catcher drafted since P.J. Jones in 2015. Great Britain will play in their second consecutive World Baseball Classic, beginning on March 6 against Mexico in Houston, Texas. Great Britain will hold a preparation and training camp in Phoenix, Arizona, hosted by the Milwaukee Brewers, prior to the World Baseball Classic, including two exhibition games – March 3 against the Brewers in Phoenix and March 4 against the San Diego Padres in Peoria. This is Great Britain's second appearance at the World Baseball Classic, following their debut at the 2023 edition.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
1976 - WSU's 1976 College World Series team will be inducted into the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame this fall, WSU will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1976 CWS team all season
100 - WSU's 7-4 win over Iowa in Texas last season (2/28) was Nathan Choate's 100th career win
81% - WSU returns 81% of its innings from last season, the 10th-most nationally (D1Baseball)
21 - 21 Cougs were named to the Academic All-Mountain West Team (3.0 cume GPA)
13 - 13 Cougar Pitchers return with Division I innings, WSU entered last year with just 2
12 - WSU is 12-16 all time against SEC opponents, is 0-4 in series with SEC opponents
10 - WSU used 10 pitchers in the 7-6 10-inning win at Gonzaga April 1 (GU scored 5 in 1st, 1 in 10th)
5 - WSU's roster features 5 Canadians; C Alexandre Giguère, OF Max Hartman, C Cam Macleod, RHP Scott Rienguette, SS Gavin Roy
5 - Ollie Obenour's 5-hit game at Air Force March 14 was 5th 5-hit game by a freshman since 1995
4 - WSU has 4 team captains, LHP Nick Lewis, RHP Luke Meyers, SS Gavin Roy, 1B Ryan Skjonsby
3.45 - WSU's 3.45 team GPA this past fall semester is a program record
3 - 3 former Cougs are in the big leagues; 
      Ian Hamilton (RHP, NYY), Kyle Manzardo (1B, CLE), Ryan Walker (RHP, SFG)

IN THE CLASSROOM, IN THE COMMUNITY
- WSU set a program record with a 3.45 team GPA in the 2025 fall semester
- WSU earned ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award the last two seasons (3.29, 3.35)
- WSU partners with WSU ROAR to host a Lentil Cookoff each fall. WSU ROAR is a two-year postsecondary education program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

WILL CRESSWELL DRAFTED BY TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Catcher Will Cresswell was selected in the 18th round by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft. Cresswell, taken as the 18th round and No. 532 overall pick, is the first Cougar catcher drafted since P.J. Jones in 2015 and the first Cougar drafted by Toronto since shortstop Cody Bartlett in 2011. This past season, Cresswell became the first Cougar catcher to earn all-league honors since 2021 after earning a spot on the All-Mountain West Conference Second Team. The senior from Auburn, Wash. hit .329 with 13 doubles and five home run doubles along with a team-high 43 RBI and 10 multiple-RBI games while his 19 runners thrown out caught stealing led the league. During conference play, Cresswell hit .369 with eight doubles and five home runs while his team-best 37 RBI were fifth-most in the Mountain West. Cresswell closed his Cougar career with a career-highs in batting average, hits, runs, doubles, stolen bases, RBI and his five home runs tied a career high. In his four-year career at WSU, Cresswell appeared in 132 games and hit .249 with 10 doubles, 11 home runs and 66 RBI.

FIVE EARN ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
Five Washington State Baseball student-athletes were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team. Outfielder Logan Johnstone, left-handed pitcher Nick Lewis, right-handed pitcher Luke Meyers, shortstop Gavin Roy and first baseman Ryan Skjonsby were all named to the All-District Team while Johnstone will be on the All-America ballot.

FAN EXPERIENCE AT BAILEY-BRAYTON FIELD
WSU Athletics and Aramark Sports announced additions to the Bailey-Brayton Field fan experience in 2025. 
 
- Enhanced views of the ballpark with the new backstop netting
- RV Weekends (May 9-11 vs. UNLV)
- Fans 21 and over will have the opportunity to take all food and beverage menu items, including beer and wine, to their seats for the 2025 baseball season
- Upgraded concession items including a walking taco cart (open weather dependent), footlong hotdogs, and a specialty brunch burger during Sunday games which includes bacon, egg, and cheese.
- Section 11 remains an alcohol-free section
- No re-entry to the ballpark
 
Beer and wine sales will continue to be located down the first base line in front of the Miller Indoor Training Facility (Beverages must be taken back to their seats).

JOHN OLERUD NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE CENTURY
The Pac-12 Conference inducted Coug legend John Olerud into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor in 2019. Olerud was named the Pac-12 Conference's Baseball Player of the Century in 2016. During his three seasons in a Cougar uniform, Olerud (1987-89) had one of the finest careers of any Cougar student-athlete, in any sport, in Washington State history, rewriting the WSU record books and becoming the only Cougar baseball athlete ever to be named College Athlete of the Year. In 1988, Olerud became the only player in NCAA history to win 15 games on the mound and hit 20 home runs in the same season, going 15-0 with 23 home runs that year. Olerud went 26-4 overall with a 3.17 ERA over 241.1 innings during his three seasons, hitting .434. He set two Pac-10 records and 10 Pac-10 North marks, highlighted by his sophomore season when he was named Athlete of the Year by Baseball America. In January prior to his junior year at WSU, Olerud suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a type of brain seizure. He missed the first 28 games of the spring season, but returned to hit .359 for WSU over the final 27 games. Prior to his senior season, Olerud signed a contract with Toronto and went directly to the Major Leagues. In 1993, he became the first Blue Jay to win a batting title, hitting .363. Olerud played for Toronto, the New York Mets and Yankees, Seattle and Boston during his 17-year career, winning back-to-back World Series titles with Toronto in 1992 and 1993. In 2001 he joined his father, John Sr., in the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame, and is a member of the College Baseball, State of Washington and Inland Northwest Sports Halls of Fame. The John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, given annually by the College Baseball Hall of Fame, was named in his honor and in 2016, he was named the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Century.

PAC-12 CONFERENCE BASEBALL SET FOR NEW LOOK IN 2027
The Pac-12 Conference and Dallas Baptist University (DBU) jointly announced that the Patriots will join as an affiliate member in the sport of baseball beginning with the 2026-27 season, coinciding with the new Pac-12's launch year. DBU will join Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas State and Washington State as the seven members of Pac-12 Baseball.